Kenji sat on the edge of his bed in the Pokemon Center, staring at the eight Pokeballs arranged in a neat row on the nightstand.
The morning sun filtered through the window, casting warm light across the room. Outside, he could hear the sounds of Viridian City waking up—trainers chatting, Pokemon calling, the general bustle of a world that had no idea how close it was to being accidentally destroyed by the small army of god-tier creatures currently in Kenji's possession.
Eight Pokemon.
An alpha shiny Charizard that could melt through dimensions.
Ho-Oh, the resurrection phoenix.
Kartana, the origami blade that could cut through anything.
Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres—the complete legendary bird trio.
Guzzlord, the Ultra Beast that ate everything.
And now Celebi, the time-traveling onion fairy.
Kenji picked up Celebi's Pokeball and examined it. The tiny green Pokemon was visible through the transparent upper half, curled up peacefully, apparently napping. It looked so innocent. So harmless. So definitely-not-capable-of-altering-the-timeline-and-erasing-him-from-existence.
He put the ball back down.
For a long moment, he just sat there, thinking.
What was he doing?
No, really. What was he actually doing?
He had spent the last two days running from this. Fighting against it. Insisting that he didn't want to be a trainer, didn't want legendary Pokemon, didn't want any part of this insane adventure that the universe seemed determined to force upon him.
And where had that gotten him?
Eight Pokemon.
More than most trainers accumulated in their entire careers, and he'd had them for less than forty-eight hours.
Running wasn't working. Resistance wasn't working. The universe had clearly decided that Kenji was going to be a Pokemon trainer whether he liked it or not, and all his protests had accomplished was making the experience more stressful than it needed to be.
So maybe...
Maybe it was time to stop running.
Kenji closed his eyes and thought about his old life. His real life. The life before the vending machine, before the waiting room, before he woke up as a ten-year-old in a world of magical creatures.
He had been twenty-six. A systems administrator. Underpaid, overworked, slowly drowning in a sea of meaningless tasks and endless meetings. He had lived in a tiny apartment with bad plumbing and noisy neighbors. He had eaten convenience store meals because he was too tired to cook. He had watched the years slip by, one after another, each one grayer than the last.
But before that...
Before adulthood had crushed the joy out of him like a hydraulic press slowly flattening a soda can...
He had been a kid.
A kid who had played Pokemon.
A kid who had dreamed of adventure.
He remembered sitting in his childhood bedroom, Game Boy in hand, exploring Kanto for the first time. The thrill of catching his first Pokemon. The excitement of gym battles. The wonder of discovering new areas, new creatures, new possibilities.
He had wanted to be a Pokemon trainer so badly. Not for real, obviously—Pokemon weren't real—but in that way that children want impossible things, with an intensity and purity that adult minds couldn't comprehend.
And then he had grown up.
And the dream had faded.
And he had become a systems administrator.
Kenji opened his eyes.
He was in the Pokemon world.
Pokemon were real.
He had eight of them. Eight legendaries. Eight impossibly powerful creatures that had chosen him for reasons he didn't understand.
And he was wasting this opportunity feeling sorry for himself.
"Screw it," Kenji said out loud.
The words hung in the air of the quiet room.
"Screw it," he repeated, with more conviction this time. "Screw running. Screw hiding. Screw pretending I don't want this."
He stood up.
"I'm in the Pokemon world. I have legendary Pokemon. And I'm going to be a trainer." He grabbed the Pokeballs from the nightstand, clipping them to his belt with hands that had stopped shaking. "A real trainer. I'm going to go on an adventure. I'm going to challenge gyms. I'm going to explore every corner of this region and catch Pokemon and battle trainers and do all the things I dreamed about doing when I was a kid."
He walked to the door.
"Because I died. I died at twenty-six, killed by a vending machine, having accomplished nothing meaningful with my entire miserable existence. And now I have a second chance. A second life. And I am NOT going to waste it sitting in a Pokemon Center feeling scared."
He threw open the door.
Red was standing in the hallway, fist raised as if he had been about to knock.
They stared at each other.
"Good morning," Red said.
"Good morning," Kenji replied.
"I heard you talking to yourself. Through the door."
"...How much did you hear?"
"Most of it."
Kenji felt his face heat up. "That's... embarrassing."
Red shrugged. "I thought it was inspiring."
"You did?"
"Yeah. Very dramatic. The part about the vending machine was sad, though." Red tilted his head. "Are you okay?"
Kenji considered the question.
Was he okay?
He had died. He had been reincarnated. He was in a fictional universe. He had eight legendary Pokemon. His entire understanding of reality had been shattered, rebuilt, shattered again, and was currently held together with the metaphysical equivalent of duct tape and optimism.
"No," he admitted. "But I'm going to be."
Red nodded, as if this was a perfectly reasonable answer. "Blue's waiting downstairs. We were going to grab breakfast before heading out. You coming?"
Kenji smiled. It felt strange on his face—genuine, unforced, almost natural.
"Yeah," he said. "I'm coming."
Breakfast at the Pokemon Center was a simple affair—rice, miso soup, and grilled fish, the same meal his "mother" had made him back in Pallet Town. Kenji ate with actual appetite for the first time since arriving in this world, while Blue chattered endlessly about his plans for the journey ahead.
"—and THEN, once I've gotten all eight badges, I'm going to challenge the Elite Four and become the Champion! And THEN I'm going to rub it in Gramps' face that I'm the best trainer in the whole region! And THEN—"
"Blue," Red interrupted quietly. "Breathe."
Blue paused mid-sentence, took a deep breath, and continued at exactly the same pace. "And THEN I'm going to travel to other regions and become Champion THERE too! And THEN—"
Kenji tuned him out, focusing instead on the weight of the Pokeballs at his belt. Eight of them. Eight partners. Eight creatures that had chosen him, for better or worse, to be their trainer.
He hadn't actually... talked to them yet. Not really. The Charizard, yes—that strange moment in his bedroom when the dragon had shown him something, a glimpse of who he could become. But the others? The Ho-Oh and the birds and the Ultra Beasts and the time fairy? He had caught them, sure, but he hadn't connected with them. Hadn't treated them like partners.
That needed to change.
"Hey," he said, interrupting Blue mid-rant about his future glory. "After breakfast, I want to spend some time with my Pokemon. Before we head out."
Blue blinked. "Spend time with them? Like, training?"
"Like... getting to know them. We haven't really had a chance to bond yet."
Red nodded approvingly. "Good idea. There's a park behind the Pokemon Center. Should be private enough."
"Private is good," Kenji agreed. "I don't think the general public is ready to see my team."
Blue snorted. "Yeah, probably not. Last thing we need is a citywide panic because someone saw your Guzzlord eating a tree."
"Does it eat trees?"
"I don't know! It looked like it ate everything!"
Kenji made a mental note to research Guzzlord's dietary requirements. Among other things.
The park behind the Pokemon Center was, as Red had promised, private. A small green space enclosed by high hedges, with a few benches and a modest pond. More of a garden than a park, really. Perfect for what Kenji had in mind.
Red and Blue had decided to give him space, heading off to the Pokemart to stock up on supplies before they hit the road. Kenji appreciated the gesture. What he was about to do felt... personal. Important. Not something he wanted an audience for.
He stood in the center of the garden, Pokeballs in hand, and took a deep breath.
"Okay," he said to no one. "Let's do this."
He released the Charizard first.
The alpha shiny dragon materialized in a burst of light, its massive form somehow fitting into the garden space despite being far too large for it. The same spatial anomaly as before—existing without destroying, present without overwhelming. Its black scales gleamed in the morning sun, blue flames tracing patterns across its body.
"Hey," Kenji said, looking up at the creature that had started all of this. "We haven't really been properly introduced. I'm Kenji. Technically. It's not my original name, but it's the one I have now. I, uh... I'm going to be your trainer. If that's okay with you."
The Charizard lowered its massive head, bringing those ancient red eyes level with Kenji's face. It made a sound—a low rumble, almost like a purr—that vibrated through the air.
"I'm going to take that as a yes." Kenji reached out tentatively and placed his hand on the dragon's snout. The scales were warm—not painfully hot, just warm, like sun-baked stone. "I don't really know why you chose me. I'm not special. I'm not a hero. I'm just... a guy. A dead guy who got a second chance. But I promise I'll try to be worthy of it. Of you. Of all of you."
The Charizard's eyes seemed to soften. It pressed its snout gently against Kenji's palm, acknowledging him, accepting him.
Something in Kenji's chest loosened. Something he hadn't even realized was tight.
"Okay," he said, smiling despite himself. "Okay. One down, seven to go."
He released Ho-Oh next.
The legendary phoenix appeared in an explosion of rainbow light, its magnificent plumage catching the sun and scattering it into a thousand colors. It was smaller than the Charizard—most things were smaller than the Charizard—but no less majestic. No less powerful.
"Ho-Oh," Kenji said, feeling slightly ridiculous addressing a literal god. "I'm Kenji. I'm your trainer now, I guess. I promise not to use you for anything evil or world-ending or generally problematic."
Ho-Oh tilted its head, regarding him with eyes that seemed to see right through him. Through his body, through his soul, into whatever cosmic essence had brought him to this world in the first place.
Then it leaned down and gently pressed its beak to his forehead.
Warmth flooded through him. Not physical warmth—something deeper. A sense of peace, of acceptance, of belonging. Like coming home after a very long journey.
"Is that... is that your blessing?" Kenji asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Ho-Oh trilled softly, and somehow Kenji knew that yes, it was. The legendary phoenix had accepted him. Had blessed him. Had claimed him as worthy.
He wiped his eyes. He wasn't crying. He definitely wasn't crying. He just had something in his eye. Multiple somethings. Very dusty garden.
Kartana was next.
The tiny origami Pokemon floated in the air before him, paper-thin body catching the light like a blade. It was so small, so delicate-looking, and yet Kenji knew from the Pokedex entries—the ACCURATE Pokedex entries—that it could slice through steel towers with a single stroke.
"Kartana," Kenji said. "I'm Kenji. I'm... well, I'm your trainer. Though you probably already knew that."
Kartana tilted in the air—its version of tilting its head, perhaps—and made a soft rustling sound.
"I know you're from a different dimension. Ultra Space, right? I know you probably didn't choose to come here. But I promise I'll take care of you. I'll find you good things to cut." He paused. "That sounded weird. I mean, I'll find you... appropriate challenges. Battles. Things where your abilities are useful and appreciated."
Kartana rustled again, and then—moving almost too fast to see—it zipped around Kenji in a circle, its blade-edges passing within millimeters of his body without touching him once.
When it stopped, Kenji's hair was shorter.
"Did you just give me a haircut?"
Kartana made a sound that was definitely smug.
"It... actually looks pretty good." Kenji touched his head, feeling the now-even edges. "Okay. That's... that's actually kind of impressive. Thank you?"
Kartana preened.
The legendary birds came next—Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, released all at once.
They materialized in a triangle formation, ice and lightning and fire swirling around them in a display of elemental power that would have been terrifying if it hadn't been so beautiful. Each bird was the size of a small car, their combined presence filling the garden with conflicting temperatures and crackling energy.
"Hello," Kenji said, addressing all three. "I'm Kenji. Your trainer. I know this is kind of weird—you're legendary Pokemon, you've probably been around for centuries, and I'm just some guy who's been in this world for like three days. But I promise I'll treat you with respect. You're not tools to me. You're partners. Friends, hopefully. Eventually."
Articuno cooed, a sound like wind through ice crystals.
Zapdos screeched, electricity arcing between its feathers.
Moltres cried out, flames trailing from its wings.
Then, in perfect unison, all three birds bowed their heads to him.
Kenji bowed back. It seemed like the right thing to do.
Guzzlord was... a challenge.
The Ultra Beast materialized with a ground-shaking thump, its massive form barely fitting in the garden. Its ever-present maw gaped open, revealing rows of teeth that seemed to go back forever. Everything about it screamed "I will eat you and everything you love."
And yet.
And yet, as Kenji looked at the creature, he remembered what he had sensed in the forest. The fear. The loneliness. The desperate need to belong somewhere, anywhere, after being ripped from its home dimension.
"Hey, big guy," Kenji said softly. "I know you're probably hungry. I know this world is strange and scary and nothing makes sense. But you're safe now. You're with me. And I'm going to make sure you're taken care of."
Guzzlord made a sound that was almost plaintive. Its massive eyes—small compared to its body, but still larger than Kenji's head—focused on him with an intensity that was almost uncomfortable.
"I don't know if I can send you back to Ultra Space. I don't know if that's even possible. But I'll try to make this world feel like home for you. Okay?"
Guzzlord rumbled.
Then, very carefully, very gently, it lowered its head and pressed its forehead against Kenji's hand.
Its skin was rough, almost like stone, but warm. Alive. Real.
"Yeah," Kenji said, patting the Ultra Beast's head. "We're going to be okay. Both of us."
Finally, Celebi.
The time-traveling fairy materialized in a shower of sparkles, floating at eye level, regarding Kenji with an expression of pure mischief.
"Celebi," Kenji said. "The time travel Pokemon. The one who can move through the past and future. The one who—" he paused, a horrible thought occurring to him. "Wait. Can you see the future? Do you know how all of this ends?"
Celebi giggled. It was an unsettling sound coming from a creature with that much power.
"That's not reassuring. That's the opposite of reassuring." Kenji sighed. "Look, I don't know why you chose me. I don't know what you've seen in whatever timeline you came from. But I'm going to trust you. And I hope you'll trust me too."
Celebi floated closer, reaching out with one tiny hand to touch Kenji's nose.
A flash of... something. Images. Possibilities. Moments that might happen, or might not, or had already happened in timelines that no longer existed. A jumble of potential futures, all centered around Kenji, all branching out into infinity.
Then it was gone, and Celebi was giggling again, spinning in circles around his head.
"You're not going to tell me anything useful, are you?"
Celebi booped his nose and vanished back into its Pokeball.
"I'll take that as a no."
Kenji stood in the garden, surrounded by his Pokemon—his TEAM—and felt something he hadn't felt in a very long time.
Hope.
Not blind optimism. Not the naive belief that everything would work out perfectly. But hope. The quiet conviction that tomorrow could be better than today. That his existence had meaning. That he was exactly where he was supposed to be, doing exactly what he was supposed to do.
"Okay, team," he said, addressing all of them. "I know this is unconventional. I know I'm not the trainer you probably expected. I'm not Red—" he gestured vaguely in the direction his friend had gone, "—with his destiny and his determination and his somehow-always-knows-what-to-do attitude. I'm just... me. Kenji. Former systems administrator. Current Pokemon trainer. Killed by a vending machine. Really hoping that's not going to be a pattern."
The Charizard snorted, smoke curling from its nostrils.
"But I'm going to try. I'm going to try to be worthy of you. All of you. We're going to go on an adventure—a real adventure—and we're going to face whatever challenges come our way. Together." He paused, suddenly self-conscious. "That was cheesy. That was incredibly cheesy. I apologize. I used to be an adult, I swear."
Ho-Oh trilled, and somehow Kenji knew it was laughing at him. In a nice way.
"Okay. Okay." He took a deep breath. "Let's do this. Let's go on an adventure."
He recalled his Pokemon one by one, until only the Charizard remained.
"You're going to be my main partner for now," he told the dragon. "The one everyone sees. The others can come out when they're needed, but you... you're going to be my face. My statement. My 'don't mess with me because I have a dragon' deterrent."
The Charizard rumbled in approval.
"Good. Now let's go find Red and Blue before they buy out the entire Pokemart."
Red and Blue were, in fact, attempting to buy out the entire Pokemart.
Or rather, Blue was attempting to buy out the entire Pokemart while Red watched with an expression of mild concern. By the time Kenji arrived, Blue had amassed a small mountain of potions, Pokeballs, antidotes, paralyze heals, awakening, revives, and something called a "Super Repel" that Kenji vaguely remembered from the games.
"Do you really need all of that?" Kenji asked, surveying the pile.
"Of course I do! A good trainer is always prepared!" Blue puffed out his chest. "You never know when you're going to need seventeen Antidotes!"
"When would you need seventeen Antidotes?"
"What if I fight seventeen poisonous Pokemon in a row?"
"Has that ever happened to anyone ever?"
"It COULD!"
Red sighed. "I tried to stop him."
"I can see that."
They eventually managed to negotiate Blue down to a more reasonable amount of supplies—ten potions, five Pokeballs, a handful of status healers, and ONE Super Repel because Blue absolutely insisted. Kenji purchased his own supplies as well, suddenly very aware that he had been walking around with legendary Pokemon and zero supporting items.
"So," Blue said, as they finally left the Pokemart, bags considerably lighter than Blue had wanted, "what's the plan? Viridian Gym? Route 2? Viridian Forest?"
"The Viridian Gym is closed," Red said. "Has been for a while. No one knows where the Gym Leader is."
Kenji's brain supplied the answer automatically: Giovanni. The Gym Leader was Giovanni. Who was also the head of Team Rocket. Who was probably off somewhere doing evil things and would not return to his Gym duties until much later in the timeline.
He decided not to share this information. Too many questions.
"Then we head north," Kenji said. "Route 2, Viridian Forest, Pewter City. The first open Gym is there, right? Brock?"
"You've done your research!" Blue grinned approvingly. "Yeah, Brock's the Pewter City Gym Leader. Rock-type specialist. Should be a good warm-up!"
Kenji thought about his Charizard—his alpha shiny Charizard with fire attacks that could melt steel—and wondered what "warm-up" meant when applied to legendary Pokemon.
Probably nothing good.
"Let's go," he said.
Route 2 was, unsurprisingly, full of trainers.
Young kids, mostly, with Rattata and Pidgey and the occasional Caterpie. They challenged Kenji and his friends with the boundless enthusiasm of people who had no idea what they were getting into.
Kenji tried to be merciful.
"Charizard," he said, facing his first official trainer battle against a Bug Catcher with a Weedle, "please... hold back."
The Charizard rumbled.
"I mean REALLY hold back. Like, one percent power. Maybe less. This kid is like eight years old and his Pokemon is a caterpillar."
The Charizard tilted its head, considering.
"Please?"
The Charizard sighed—actually sighed, like a put-upon babysitter—and then turned to face the Weedle.
The Bug Catcher had gone very pale.
"Is... is that a Charizard?" he squeaked.
"Yes."
"Why is it BLACK?"
"Long story."
"I... I'm going to lose, aren't I?"
"Almost certainly. But it's a learning experience! Everyone loses sometimes!"
The Charizard, to its credit, was as gentle as a creature of its immense power could be. It flicked its tail—just a casual flick, barely any force behind it—and the Weedle went flying into a nearby bush.
The Weedle was fine. The bush was fine. The Bug Catcher was traumatized but unharmed.
"Good job," Kenji told his Charizard. "Very restrained. I'm proud of you."
The Charizard preened.
As they walked, Kenji found himself falling into a rhythm.
Wake up. Eat breakfast. Walk. Battle. Talk with Red and Blue. Walk some more. Catch the occasional Pidgey or Rattata for other trainers who asked nicely. Watch his Charizard one-shot everything without really trying.
It was... nice.
More than nice. It was everything his childhood self had dreamed about.
Sure, his Pokemon were absurdly overpowered. Sure, every battle was a foregone conclusion before it even started. Sure, he could probably walk up to the Elite Four right now and steamroll them without breaking a sweat.
But that wasn't the point.
The point was the journey. The adventure. The simple joy of walking through a world full of wonder, discovering new things, making friends, experiencing life in a way his old self never had.
Kenji realized, somewhere between Route 2 and the entrance to Viridian Forest, that he was happy.
Actually, genuinely, truly happy.
It was a strange feeling. Foreign. Like wearing clothes that didn't quite fit, except in a good way. He kept waiting for it to fade, for the cynicism and despair of his old life to come creeping back, but it didn't.
The happiness stayed.
"You're smiling," Red observed, as they took a break at the forest entrance.
"Am I?"
"Yeah. A lot. It's kind of weird."
"Sorry. I'll try to look more miserable."
Red shook his head, a small smile of his own appearing. "Don't. It's nice. You seem... lighter. Than before."
Kenji thought about that.
"I made a decision this morning," he said. "To stop fighting this. To just... accept it. Accept my new life, accept my new Pokemon, accept that this is what I'm doing now." He looked at the forest ahead, at the shadows between the trees, at the adventure waiting for him. "I think I was so focused on what I'd lost—my old life, my old world, my old identity—that I forgot to appreciate what I'd gained."
"What have you gained?"
"This." Kenji gestured at everything—the forest, the sky, the Pokeballs at his belt, Red and Blue nearby. "All of this. A second chance. A new beginning. The opportunity to live the life I always dreamed about as a kid, before adult life crushed all the dreams out of me."
Red nodded slowly. "That's a good reason to smile."
"Yeah. It is."
Blue came jogging back from wherever he'd wandered off to, holding something triumphantly above his head. "LOOK WHAT I FOUND!"
It was a Caterpie.
A very ordinary, very small, very confused-looking Caterpie.
"Blue," Kenji said, "you already have like five Pokemon."
"I know! But this one looked at me! It was meant to be!"
Kenji exchanged a glance with Red.
Red shrugged.
"Fine," Kenji said. "Catch your Caterpie. We'll wait."
Viridian Forest was dark, dense, and absolutely crawling with Bug Pokemon.
Kenji had expected this. The games had always depicted the forest as a maze of trees and grass, full of Weedle and Caterpie and the occasional Pikachu. What he hadn't expected was how genuinely atmospheric it was in person.
The trees blocked out most of the sunlight, leaving the forest floor in a perpetual twilight. Strange sounds echoed between the trunks—Pokemon calls, rustling leaves, the buzz of unseen insects. The air was thick with the smell of earth and growth and something else, something wild.
"This place is creepy," Blue muttered, huddling closer to the group.
"I think it's beautiful," Kenji said.
"You would. You have a dragon that could burn the whole forest down."
"I wouldn't burn it down. That would be environmentally irresponsible."
"Since when do you care about environmental responsibility?"
"Since I started living in a world where nature can literally fight back."
Blue considered this. "Fair point."
They made their way through the forest slowly, battling the occasional Bug Catcher (Kenji continued to have his Charizard hold back, though the strain of restraint was clearly starting to show on the dragon's face), and collecting the odd item that previous trainers had apparently dropped.
At one point, they found a Potion just lying on the ground.
"Who leaves a perfectly good Potion in the middle of a forest?" Kenji wondered.
"Maybe they were in a hurry?" Red suggested.
"In a hurry to what? Get poisoned by Weedle?"
"It happens more often than you'd think."
They stopped for lunch in a small clearing, breaking out the food they'd packed from the Pokemon Center. Sandwiches, rice balls, and a thermos of tea that Blue had insisted on bringing despite Red's protests about the extra weight.
Kenji released his Charizard to join them, letting the dragon curl up in a patch of sunlight that somehow made it through the canopy. The other Pokemon stayed in their balls for now—releasing all eight of them would probably cause a panic, and the forest already had enough problems.
"So," Blue said, through a mouthful of sandwich, "what's your plan? Long-term, I mean. You've got the most powerful Pokemon any of us have ever seen. What are you going to do with them?"
Kenji thought about it.
"Honestly? I don't know. At first, I just wanted to hide. Pretend none of this was happening. But that wasn't working, so..." He shrugged. "Now I just want to experience this. The journey. The adventure. I spent my entire adult life working in an office, doing nothing meaningful, waiting for something to change. And then I died. And now I'm here. And for the first time in... maybe ever... I'm actually living."
"That's surprisingly deep for a guy who got killed by a vending machine," Blue said.
"Thanks. I think."
Red set down his tea. "What about after? After the adventure, I mean. After you've challenged the Gyms and seen the region. What then?"
"I don't know." Kenji looked at his Charizard, at the flame on its tail burning steadily in the dappled light. "Maybe I'll keep traveling. See other regions. Meet more Pokemon. Or maybe I'll settle down somewhere quiet and just... live. Enjoy my second chance."
"You could become Champion," Blue said. "With your team, you could beat anyone. Even Red!"
Red gave Blue a look.
"What? It's true!"
"I don't think I want to be Champion," Kenji said slowly. "That seems like a lot of responsibility. A lot of pressure. I just spent twenty-six years being crushed by responsibility and pressure. I'm not eager to sign up for more of it."
"Then what DO you want?"
Kenji smiled. "To be happy. To have adventures. To live the life I always dreamed about when I was a kid, before growing up got in the way." He leaned back against a tree, looking up at the fragments of sky visible through the leaves. "That's enough for me. That's more than enough."
They reached the end of Viridian Forest by late afternoon.
The trees thinned out, giving way to open grassland and the distant shapes of buildings. Pewter City. Home of Brock and the first official Pokemon Gym on their journey.
Kenji felt a surge of anticipation as they emerged from the forest. This was it. His first Gym battle. The first real step on his journey as a trainer.
Granted, it was a Gym that specialized in Rock-types, and he had a legendary fire dragon that could probably sneeze and defeat the entire roster. But still. It was the principle of the thing.
"We should hit the Pokemon Center first," Red suggested. "Get our teams healed up before the Gym."
"Good idea," Kenji agreed.
They walked toward the city, three trainers at the start of their journeys, the future stretching out before them like an unwritten story.
Kenji didn't know what challenges lay ahead. He didn't know what enemies he would face, what trials he would overcome, what legendary Pokemon would inevitably fall out of the sky and demand to be caught.
But for the first time since arriving in this world, he was looking forward to finding out.
The adventure had begun.
And Kenji was finally ready to embrace it.
As they entered Pewter City, Kenji's Charizard suddenly stopped, raising its head as if sensing something.
"What is it?" Kenji asked.
The Charizard rumbled, looking toward the mountains in the distance. Toward something Kenji couldn't see or sense.
"Is something coming?"
The Charizard turned back to him, and for a moment, Kenji could have sworn he saw amusement in those ancient red eyes.
Then the dragon shook its head and continued walking, leaving Kenji to wonder what, exactly, his Pokemon had noticed.
Probably nothing.
Probably just a false alarm.
Definitely not another legendary Pokemon preparing to make its way toward him.
(It was absolutely another legendary Pokemon preparing to make its way toward him. Several of them, actually. But that was a problem for future Kenji.)
For now, present Kenji had a Gym battle to prepare for, friends to adventure with, and a whole new life to live.
And that was more than enough.
End of Chapter 3